DALLAS, March 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica Bank's California Economic Activity Index dropped in January, falling 2.2 points to a level of 98.6. January's reading is 25 points, or 35 percent, above the index cyclical low of 73.2. The index averaged a revised 103 points for all of 2012, four points above the average for all of 2011. December's index reading was revised to 100.8.

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"Our California Index has declined for each of the last six months, down 6.7 points from its July 2012 peak," said Robert Dye, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "Components of the index were mostly negative. Only payrolls and sales tax receipts were up for January. Property markets appear to be firming up in most areas, providing broad-based support to the state economy. However, recent state income and sales tax increases add to the drag from federal-level fiscal tightening."

The California Economic Activity Index consists of eight variables, as follows: nonfarm payrolls, exports, sales tax revenues, hotel occupancy rates, continuing claims for unemployment insurance, building permits, Baker Hughes rotary rig count and the Silicon Valley 150 Index (SV150). All data are seasonally adjusted, as necessary, and indexed to a base year of 2008. Nominal values have been converted to constant dollar values. Index levels are expressed in terms of three-month moving averages.

Comerica Bank, with 105 banking centers in the key California markets of San Francisco and the East Bay, San Jose, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento, Santa Cruz/Monterey, and the Inland Empire, is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA). Comerica is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned into three major business segments: the Business Bank, the Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helping businesses and people be successful. To find Comerica on Facebook, please visit www.facebook.com/ComericaCares. 

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SOURCE Comerica Bank